''Highschool of the Dead'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written by

Daisuke Satō was a Japanese board game designer, novelist, and manga writer. He was known for his alternate history novels ''Seito'' and ''Red Sun Black Cross,'' among others. He wrote the story for his manga ''Imperial Guards'' (with illustrator Yū Itō) ...

and illustrated by Shōji Satō. It was serialized in

Fujimi Shobo , formerly , was a Japanese publisher that specialized in light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. Founded in 1972 and reorganized three times, it was at times an independent company and at times an imprint of Kadokawa F ...

's ''

Monthly Dragon Age is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. The magazine began as a combination between ''Monthly Comic Dragon'' and ''Monthly Dragon Junior'', two former magazines published by Fujimi Shobo. The first issue was published in ...

'' between the September 2006 and May 2013 issues, but was left unfinished following Daisuke Satō's death in March 2017. Fujimi Shobo and

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

published seven ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes from March 2007 and April 2011 in Japan.

Yen Press Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...

published the series in North America. The story follows a group of high school students caught in the middle of a

zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack hum ...

. A 12-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

adaptation, produced by Madhouse and covering the first four volumes, aired in Japan from July 5 to September 20, 2010. Madhouse also produced an

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

(OVA) episode in 2011.

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

released an English dub of the anime series and OVA on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

in North America.

Plot

''Highschool of the Dead'' is set in present-day Japan, beginning as the world is struck by a deadly

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

that turns humans into

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

s, euphemistically referred to by the main characters as . The story follows a group of high school students and the school's nurse as they deal with the worldwide catastrophic event known as the "Outbreak". As the cast tries to survive the

, they must also face the additional threats of

societal collapse Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of socioeconomic complexity, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence. Possible cause ...

, in the form of dangerous fellow survivors, and the possible decay of their own moral codes. Starting from the high school, the students escape into town where they must deal with a corrupt teacher and his students. They check their homes for survivors, and pick up a little girl and a dog. Later, they hole up at a mall, travel through a police station, and eventually make their way to an elementary school that is supposedly a safe zone.

Media

Manga

Written by

and illustrated by Shōji Satō, ''Highschool of the Dead'' began serialization in the September 2006 issue of

manga magazine Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

''. The manga went on hiatus from 2008 to 2010, but after March 2011, only one more chapter was released in April 2013. The series was left unfinished following Daisuke Satō's death on March 22, 2017. Fujimi Shobo and Kadokawa Shoten published seven ''

'' volumes from March 1, 2007 and April 25, 2011 in Japan. A full-color version of the manga, called , began serialization in the February 2011 issue of ''Monthly Dragon Age''. Kadokawa Shoten released the manga's seven volumes from February 25, 2011 to March 9, 2013. In North America, the full-color edition began serialization in the March 2011 issue of

' ''

Yen Plus ''Yen Plus'' was an American monthly anthology magazine of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and original English-language (OEL) manga published by Yen Press. History The first issue of ''Yen Plus'' went on sale on July 29, 2008, with five manga tit ...

'' online magazine, and ran until the July 2011 issue. The volumes were later released in two hardcover omnibus volumes on November 22, 2011 and December 17, 2013. Shortly following the inception of the series and before it was licensed for distribution in English, the manga became popular enough in English via

scanlation Scanlation (also scanslation) is the fan-made scanning, translation, and editing of comics from a language into another language. Scanlation is done as an amateur work performed by groups and is nearly always done without express permission from t ...

to draw the attention of the creators, who included a message in English within the magazine's printing of the fifth chapter that requested readers to buy the original manga when it is available. The manga was later licensed in North America by Yen Press, and the first volume was released on January 25, 2011. The series is also published in Spain by Glénat España, in Germany by

Carlsen Carlsen is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Carl". The form Karlsen is cognate. The parallel Swedish forms are Carlsson and Karlsson. Notable people with the surname include: * Agnete Carlsen (born 1971), Norwegian footb ...

, in Italy, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia by

Panini Comics Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, which also produces collectable stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy. The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hunga ...

, in Canada and France for French-language publication by

Pika Édition Pika Édition is a French publisher headquartered in Vanves, specializing in manga. Founded as a daughter company of Media System Editions, it was taken over by Hachette Livre in 2007. Distribution ''Pika Édition'' publications are distributed ...

, in Poland by

Waneko Waneko is a Polish language, Polish manga publisher, located in Warsaw, Poland. The founders of Waneko are Aleksandra Watanuki, Martyna Taniguchi and Kenichiro Watanuki. Titles published Manga *''Message to Adolf, Adolf ni Tsugu'' *''Ao no Exorci ...

, and in Taiwan by Kadokawa Media. A crossover manga by Shōji Satō, called , was published on August 9, 2012, featuring characters from ''

Triage X is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shōji Satō. It has been serialized in Fujimi Shobo's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Dragon Age'' since 2009 and collected in 25 ''tankōbon'' volumes so far, as of August 2022. ...

'', Sato's other work. The author of the series, Daisuke Satō became sick in 2008, which made the production of the manga very difficult. After the death of Daisuke Satō in 2017, Kawanakajima and Shōji Satō agreed that the series should be stopped as is and instead focus on the ''Triage X'' series.

Anime

An anime adaptation aired on the Japanese network AT-X from July 5 to September 20, 2010, with subsequent broadcasts on

TV Kanagawa (tvk for short) is an independent television station in Japan serving Kanagawa Prefecture and parts of the Greater Tokyo Area with favorable reception. The station was founded on April 20, 1971 and began broadcasting on April 1, 1972. Its call si ...

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

Chiba TV , doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neighbouring prefectures. It is a m ...

KBS Kyoto is a commercial broadcasting station headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It is doing business in Kyoto Prefecture as and in Shiga Prefecture as Its radio station serves Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures and is a member of National Radio Network (NRN) ...

TV Aichi JOCI-DTV, branded as , is a television station in Nagoya, Japan operated by the Aichi Television Broadcasting Company, Ltd. (TVA; ja, テレビ愛知株式会社, Terebi Aichi kabushiki gaisha) and is an affiliate of the TX Network. Broadcasti ...

TV Saitama abbreviated TVS, doing business as is a Japanese fee-free terrestrial commercial television broadcasting company headquartered in Urawa-ku, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its intended coverage is Saitama Prefecture but with some sp ...

, and Sun TV. Produced by Geneon Universal Entertainment,

Showgate , until October 1, 2015 , is a Japanese production company and distributor of films and series. Works *''CB Chara Go Nagai World'' (1990) *'' Burn Up'' (1991) *'' Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (1992) **''GinRei Specials'' (1994 ...

, AT-X and Madhouse, the series is directed by

Tetsurō Araki is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist, and director. He goes by the alias when working as an episode director and key animator. His most notable direction titles include '' Death Note'' and the first three seasons of '' Attack on Titan''. ...

, with

Yōsuke Kuroda is a Japanese anime screenwriter from Mie Prefecture, Japan. He has his own studio enterprise, Studio Orphee. Kuroda is noted for his work on authoring the scenario, screenplay and story composition of the anime series ''Excel Saga'', ''Please ...

handling series composition, Masayoshi Tanaka designing the characters and

Takafumi Wada is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer. He has provided the music for several anime series, television dramas, movies and video games. He is best known for his role on the soundtrack of '' The Seven Deadly Sins'', '' Seraph of the ...

composing the music. Six

and

volumes were released by Geneon Universal Entertainment between September 22, 2010 and February 23, 2011. In North America, the anime series was licensed by

for

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

on the

Anime Network Anime Network is an American video on demand (VOD) network dedicated to anime owned by AMC Networks. History The network was launched in North America in late 2002 and is marketed to multi system operators (MSOs) as both a free and subscript ...

Some of the more graphic scenes were censored. In Australia and New Zealand, the series was licensed by

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatr ...

. Sentai and Madman later gained additional rights to the series, with

Section23 Films SXION 23 LLC, doing business as Section23 Films is an American multimedia distributor based in Houston, Texas specializing in releasing anime and Japanese films. Established in 2009, Section23 is one of five successors to ADV Films; alongside Se ...

releasing the series with an English dub (produced by

Seraphim Digital Sentai Studios is an American postproduction studio of Sentai Filmworks located in Houston, Texas owned by AMC Networks. It was founded as Industrial Smoke & Mirrors, the in-house studio of ADV Films. It was renamed ADV Studios in 2005; and the ...

) on Blu-ray and DVD on June 28, 2011.

Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyro ...

also released the series in the United Kingdom. The English dub of the series aired on Anime Network's VOD service from March 10, 2011 to May 26, 2011, and was made available on Microsoft's

Zune Marketplace Zune is a discontinued media management software for Microsoft Windows that functions as a full media player application with a library, an interface to the Zune Marketplace, and as a media streaming server. The software is used to sync with all ...

and Apple's

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

on May 27, 2011 and June 27, 2011, respectively. An

episode, titled "Drifters of the Dead", was bundled on Blu-ray with the limited edition release of the seventh volume of the manga on April 26, 2011. It was originally intended for a February release, but was pushed back. It was later licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America for streaming, with the DVD and Blu-ray being released on November 26, 2013.

Music

The series' opening theme is "Highschool of the Dead" by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets. The series' closing theme songs differ in each episode, and each are sung by

Maon Kurosaki is a Japanese singer and songwriter signed to NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. After being discovered while working as a performer in Akihabara, Tokyo, she made her major debut in 2010, performing ending themes to the anime television series ...

. The CD single for the opening theme was released on August 18, 2010 by Geneon Universal Entertainment. The CD single features the TV and instrumental versions of "Highschool of the Dead" and a new song called , along with an instrumental version of the song. A CD containing all 12 ending themes sung by Kurosaki was released by Geneon on September 22, 2010, along with an

original soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

Light novel

A light novel, called , was published in March 2011.

Reception

In Japan, the sixth volume of ''Highschool of the Dead'' reached #5 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

charts between July 5 and July 11, 2010, selling 92,040 copies, and #13 between July 12 and July 18, 2010, selling 43,714 copies for a total of 135,754 copies. The seventh volume of ''Highschool of the Dead'' reached #11 on the Oricon charts between May 2 and May 8, 2011, selling 57,016 copies, #2 between May 9 and May 15, 2011, selling 115,154 copies, and #19 between May 16 and May 22, 2011, selling 34,362 copies for a total of 206,532 copies. As of May 2011 the manga has 3 million copies in circulation In North America, the second volume of the manga reached ''The New York Times'' Best-Selling Manga List, reaching #4 between April 24 and April 30, 2011, #10 between May 1 and May 7, 2011, and #8 between May 8 and May 14, 2011. For the anime adaptation, Chris Beveridge from Mania.com comments on the first episode, "There's a lot to like here if you're looking for something beyond the usual high school dramas and comedies of the last few years." Carlo Santos of

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

states that, "Other recent zombie works in Western entertainment have tried to play it ironic, or postmodernist, or just plain silly, but this one goes for straight-up horror—and pulls it off admirably." However, Zac Bertschy, also of Anime News Network, states for this episode that, "It just could've easily been written by a script generator or a horror fan with 19 minutes to kill." Andy Hanley of the UK Anime Network summaries the first manga volume as: "Nothing ground-breaking here, but a volume of mindless fun that brings all of the gory entertainment of a zombie apocalypse to the printed page." Nate Lanxon of ''

Wired UK ''Wired UK'' is a bimonthly magazine that reports on the effects of science and technology. It covers a broad range of topics including design, architecture, culture, the economy, politics and philosophy. Owned by Condé Nast Publications, it is ...

'' praises its production quality despite having no single original element. At

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

"Best and Worst Manga of 2011" panel, it was listed among the "Worst Manga" in a series of rapid-fire questions. In March 2015, the

Chinese Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (MOC) was a ministry of the government of the People's Republic of China which was dissolved on 19 March 2018. The responsibilities of the MOC, which were assumed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, encompassed cultur ...

announced a crackdown on sites hosting overly-violent or sexual anime content, with ''Highschool of the Dead'' being singled out as an example due to its sexual content; the Ministry described it as "borderline-pornographic". On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture listed ''Highschool of the Dead'' among 38 anime and manga titles banned in China.

Appearances in other titles

Illustrator Shōji Satō featured Rei and Saeko in crossover illustrations for his other manga ''

'' and the video game ''

Lollipop Chainsaw is a 2012 hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. It features Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong in English and by both Eri Kitamura in the PlayStation 3 version a ...

'', where their high school uniforms are available as unlockable costumes for main character Juliet Starling. It was also briefly featured roughly halfway through episode 4 of ''

Waiting in the Summer is a 2012 Japanese anime television series animated by J.C.Staff, produced by Genco and Geneon, and directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai. The screenplay was written by Yōsuke Kuroda with original character design by Taraku Uon, who both contributed ...

''.

References

External links

Fujimi Shobo's ''Highschool of the Dead'' website

Anime official website

''High School of the Dead''
at the

* * {{Madhouse OVAs 2006 manga 2010 anime television series debuts 2011 anime OVAs Anime and manga controversies Anime series based on manga Apocalyptic anime and manga Bioterrorism in fiction Discrimination in fiction Domestic violence in fiction Fiction set in 2010 Fujimi Shobo manga Horror anime and manga Kadokawa Dwango franchises Kadokawa Shoten manga Madhouse (company) Mass murder in fiction NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan Sentai Filmworks Shōnen manga Supernatural thriller anime and manga Television censorship in China Television shows written by Yōsuke Kuroda Tokyo MX original programming Unfinished comics Works about murder Works about rape Works about sexual abuse Works about sexual harassment Works about torture Works banned in China Yen Press titles Zombies in anime and manga Zombies in television